Advocacy for School Libraries

This week for my IST611 Class we had to post about advocacy in school libraries. Specifically, how we can engage others to be advocates of our school library.  This week I had a chance to do some of my fieldwork hours at Leilehua H.S. in Wahiawa, Hawaii. During my second visit to the library I was able to sit down with a veteran school library Ms. Sandi Maruyama and pick her brain about the role of the school librarian.  Ms. Maruyama is a huge advocate for school libraries and she shared with me her insight in to how librarians should promote their library.  

Her first point was that school librarians are integral not only to the students, but are mainly seen as a support for teachers.  They are the ones that help to bridge the gap between the administration and the teachers.  As such, she stated that librarians need to be conscious of their role to teachers and how a teacher's perception of the library can really make or break the view of the library by other teachers, students, and potentially parents.  In order to gain the support of the teachers, she suggested making lessons that compliment their classroom lessons and helping in any way you can.  That means through organization of materials, curriculum, assessments, and instruction.  Only by word of mouth by the teachers the librarians serve will the library succeed.  Success may be a few teachers or it may be many, but regardless if you offer support to the teachers, word will get around. 

Her next point was making sure the administration is kept in the loop of the happenings of the library.  She suggested providing a blog of lesson recaps and pictures.  She said be sure to include video and promote what is happening at the library.  That way the administration is kept in the loop and if your library is brought up during a district meeting the administrators are not sitting with a "deer in the highlights look."  Instead, they can further elaborate on your library and promote it to district level members.

The third point she made was to make sure you serve in your community by way of the teachers union.  This can come in the form of volunteering large amounts of time or just something small.  It really depends on your time schedule.  Ms. Maruyama had a very busy schedule, but she knew she could volunteer a small amount of time to help plan a teacher appreciation lunch for her district.  Because of her volunteer work the teachers she worked with respected her more and were more appreciative of the time she offered to them. Ultimately, by spending more time and getting involved with your staff you can begin to hear their concerns and advocate for them, which in turns means they will advocate for you.

The fourth, and last point was that it is essential to get your library into the accreditation process.  This can mean either you, the librarian, becoming part of the accreditation panel or process and thereby including yourself in the report, or making sure your name and the programs you created are in the report by way of a teacher who is on the panel and who is willing to advocate for you.  Ultimately, the budget of your library will depend on the programs and evidence you show.  That is why it is critical to have evidence based programs in place to show advocates and other officials if necessary.  

I really enjoyed talking with Ms. Maruyama and could have sat and picked her brain for hours!  She has such a wealth of knowledge and really helped me to put into perspective the role of the school librarian.  Because of her, I am even more excited to be entering the school librarianship world!

Please see my Animoto video below for school library promotion.